Mr. Speaker, despite his best intentions, does the Prime Minister not realize that if we do not quickly re-establish a balance between the humanitarian and military aspects of the mission, the situation could deteriorate considerably in the next few months?

Peter MacKayMinister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

Our government still intends to find a way to ensure that our assistance is balanced, but at the same time, ground security is vital. Indeed, balance is definitely needed for this mission. The Canadian government recognizes that.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have learned to expect only one thing from ministers of the environment, whether they be current or former, and that is betrayal, because no matter which of them were in power, pollution continued to go up.

What has been the result of this? More droughts, more floods, more fires, more storms and more ice melting. The problem is getting more and more serious.

After all these years of inaction, will the Prime Minister finally get something done and do something the former government would not do and that is to cancel the subsidies to big oil and big ass--I mean big gas and start putting--

Mr. Speaker, I promise to get to the bottom of it. I am really not sure whether I should take what the leader of the NDP said personally.

It was at the request of the leader of the NDP that the government agreed to put Bill C-30, the clean air act, before a parliamentary committee at second reading. Because we want to make concrete progress, we invite the constructive participation of all opposition parties. I would encourage the leader of the NDP to return to that constructive tone.

Mr. Speaker, my apologies. I have no idea what was crossing my mind today. This House is in a strange place today. Let me attempt to pose the question again for the Prime Minister.

It is a serious matter. The former government maintained a policy of large subsidies to big oil and big gas companies even though they are making a massive profit and they would not put the funds that Canadians have earned and paid in taxes into green energy.

Mr. Speaker, anything that relates to a Freudian slip is a serious matter but let me just say the following. I think the leader of the NDP knows that this government has not introduced any special subsidies for the oil or any other sector. In fact, recently we brought in a series of tax changes to rebalance our tax system and ensure tax fairness for all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister went to Riga to persuade his NATO partners to send more troops to southern Afghanistan. He wanted to ensure that the troops already in the field will be able to help Canada under all circumstances. The Prime Minister failed.

When can Canada expect to have help from its NATO partners in southern Afghanistan?

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said, a number of countries have committed additional troops, particularly the Poles who have committed 1,000 extra troops. These troops will have no caveats. They will be able to be employed anywhere in the country.

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians know that our NATO partners are not doing their fair share in southern Afghanistan and that Canadian soldiers are paying the price.

The Prime Minister left the meeting claiming victory but we do not know the number of additional troops committed and which countries will contribute. Basically he is telling our troops that if they are in trouble they must call 911 to get reinforcements. Our soldiers and Canadians need guarantees.

Mr. Speaker, at the NATO meeting we learned that the ISAF commander, that is the NATO commander in Afghanistan, will have three battle groups in reserve, two American battle groups and the Polish battle group, and that should be sufficient to deal with any emergencies.

Mr. Speaker, the strategy of the government is clear. Whether it be on the environment, child care, foreign affairs, women, aboriginal peoples, literacy or health care, it is to set new targets, set them really low and then hit them decisively and call that leadership. That is not leadership.

On health care, it is to offer a wait times guarantee but provide no new money for it so the provinces must pick it up and other critical services are cut. This is a service reduction guarantee.

Tony ClementMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

Mr. Speaker, while the hon. member was busy doing some other things, he may not have learned that in the space of less than two weeks the government announced the first wait time guarantees in Canada. We are showing leadership. We are helping those who are most vulnerable in the aboriginal sector and first nations sector. We are leading by example, which is what people expect from this Government of Canada.